Adventures of K-Mart & Claire
by PoeticProphetess
Summary: Claire/K-Mart A fanfic focused solely on K-Mart and Claire's relationship as they travel together.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Claire Redfield walked amongst the rubble scattered all around the abandoned shopping mall. She gripped at her pistol cradled on her waist - readying for any sign of danger at a moments notice. "Are you about done, K-Mart?" She yelled out irritably as her voice echoed throughout the empty mall.

K-Mart was gazing at her reflection in one of the store's mirrors - checking herself out in a new outfit she had arranged from all the clothes left from the abandoned stores. K-Mart ignored Claire's question and resumed to lace up her new stylish boots she had found.

Claire turned around to look at K-Mart lackadaisically tying up her boots and became increasingly frustrated. "K-Mart, hurry up. I'm serious."

K-Mart lifted her head up from her boots to look at Claire - challenging her authority. "This is one of the only - I repeat, _only_ - perks of civilization being overrun by zombies. That is, free clothes of course!"

Claire rolled her eyes and swiftly walked over to K-Mart. "You're so naïve. This is a serious situation, K-Mart. We can _die_ if we're not careful!" Claire tried to drill into K-Mart's teenage brain that clothes should be the least of her concerns at a time like this.

"You're so cute when you're worried," K-Mart teased Claire, and poked her playfully on her cheek.

Claire flinched and blinked dumbly as K-Mart winked at her. "S-stop that!" Claire said, flustered. "Now, come on. We should really be leaving," Claire urged.

K-Mart refused to listen as she grabbed for a leather jacket on one of the racks to place it before Claire's torso. "You'd look so hot in this," K-Mart said, and giggled.

Claire sighed exasperatedly and walked back towards the store's entrance. It was situations like these when it became evident to Claire just how much younger K-Mart was than her. She sometimes wondered why she was in love with this girl at all - they had almost nothing in common.

"Oh lighten up, Claire," K-Mart huffed. "If you keep stressing like that, you'll get wrinkles and you won't look young anymore for your age."

Claire scoffed and turned back around to face K-Mart. "You're very funny," Claire said sarcastically, and folded her arms across her chest.

K-Mart walked over to where Claire was standing to lightly punch her playfully on her arm. "And that's why you love me," K-Mart said, and kissed Claire lightly on the lips.

Claire's heart skipped a beat as she felt K-Mart's soft lips momentarily on her own. She didn't know what it was about this girl that made her feel incompetent and dumb. _Is this what being in love feels like? _Claire pondered to herself.

K-Mart grabbed her satchel and adjusted her green army hat. "Okay," K-Mart chimed. "I'm ready now." She reached out for Claire's hand and squeezed it firmly. "Lead the way, boss," K-Mart joked.

Claire laughed softly at K-Mart's comment. "Let's go then - stick close."

"No need to tell me that," K-Mart said seductively and inched even closer towards Claire's body. "Oh yeah," K-Mart said. "Here." K-Mart pulled out the leather jacket she had grabbed off the rack earlier from her bag, and handed it towards Claire.

Claire looked at the jacket with an exasperated look.

"Please, for me," K-Mart pleaded and pouted.

Claire sighed and grabbed the jacket. She quickly wore it and adjusted it on her body.

K-Mart squealed in delight and adoration. "Ohhh! You look so cute in leather!"

Claire felt a hot blush creep up on her cheeks and quickly turned her face away from K-Mart. "W-we're wasting time. Let's go," Claire ordered, and tugged K-Mart along to stop her from gushing over her.

"Ah! Claire!" K-Mart yelled out. "You're walking too fast!"

Claire slowed down a bit and sighed. This was going to be one _long_ journey back to their safe house.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Please, K-Mart, try and keep up," Claire urged, as K-Mart lagged behind fumbling through her bag.

"Wait, I need to find some chap-stick. My lips are dried."

Claire drooped her shoulders in defeat. _Teenagers_, she thought, as she patiently waited for K-Mart to find her chap-stick in her mess of a bag.

"Ah! Found it!" K-Mart said victoriously, and applied the strawberry-flavored balm over her bottom lip. "Much better," she giggled, and clutched onto Claire's arm. "Want to test the flavor out, Claire?" K-Mart teased, knowing that Claire's favorite flavor has, and always will be, strawberry.

Claire felt her knees weaken at the suggestion, but pushed the urge aside. "We're going to die in this mall if we don't press forward."

K-Mart sighed dramatically. "Oh, you and you're uptight attitude. It's a wonder why I even like - no, _love_ - you so much."

Claire gulped at the word love. _Love? _She thought. _K-Mart, loves me?_

K-Mart saw the distracted look on Claire's face. "Hmm? Is something the matter?"

Claire snapped out of her own thoughts and blinked back to reality. "N-no, I just…" Claire trailed off. Did she hear something?

K-Mart had stopped to listen too. There was a low growling coming from one of the darkened department stores.

Claire immediately pulled her pistol out of the holster and cocked back the trigger. K-Mart had taken the sawed-off shotgun strapped behind her back and clutched it to her shoulder. "Claire," K-Mart whispered worriedly.

"Shhh," Claire hushed her, and held onto one of K-Mart's hands. "We have to go, _now_," Claire whispered urgently, and pulled K-Mart along in a frantic run.

Just as they started running, a large, putrefying, zombie popped out of the sports store before them. It was well above six feet tall with a solid body of a football player, and it was growling vehemently as it immediately chased the two of them with amazing speed.

"Ahh!" K-Mart yelped out as the gigantic zombie pursued the two of them with ferocity.

Claire pulled K-Mart's hand in the opposite direction, nearly popping her arm right out its socket, and immediately fired two shots at the zombie's neck and temple, but it appeared her pistol bullets were having no effect on it's sturdy skin.

"K-Mart, shoot it with your shotgun!" Claire cried out, as she looked behind her to see the zombie rapidly closing in on them. It's mouth was curled up in a snarl as it growled grotesquely with determination.

K-Mart frantically tried in vain to aim at the pursuing zombie and took a shot, but missed by an inch or two - leaving the zombie's torso only slightly scarred.

Claire groaned in frustration as soon as she saw that K-Mart's shot had missed. The zombie was nearly catching up and there was no more room for any kind of error.

Without K-Mart's permission, Claire grabbed the shotgun from out of her shaking hands and took accurate aim at the monster. She fired a blast square at it's head - blowing it's face into a messy explosion of gore.

The zombie's massive body dropped to the floor of the mall with a sickening thud as Claire sighed a breath of relief.

K-Mart held onto Claire's arm in a tight grip as she stared at the headless zombie with wide eyes and her face covered slightly by the zombie's putrid blood.

"Ugh!" K-Mart groaned in disgust, as she realized what was on her face. "Gross," she muttered, wiping the blood off of her face with a towel she kept in her bag.

Claire couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of K-Mart covered in zombie blood as she frantically wiped at the nasty liquid, but missing most of it on the side of her cheeks.

K-Mart noticed Claire trying to suppress her laughter and threw the bloody towel she was using straight on her face.

Claire's vision suddenly grew dark as the towel landed over her eyes. She swatted the towel off and nearly gagged at the smell of the rotting zombie's blood. "K-Mart!" Claire yelled out furiously as she continued to dry heave in a bent over position with her hands on her knees.

K-Mart couldn't help but double over in laughter herself as she saw the usually tough and stoic Claire overreacting from a lousy towel.

Tears started falling from Claire's eyes from all the choking she was doing from the rank smell the towel permeated.

K-Mart was starting to feel bad for what she had done to Claire, so she walked over towards her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I'm sorry, Claire, but you deserved it for laughing at me," K-Mart playfully said.

Claire raised an eyebrow and tried to regain her usual steely composure. "Whatever, it didn't bother me much."

"Yeah, right," K-Mart said, unconvinced by Claire's words and looked back over to the fallen zombie.

"Do you think there's more," K-Mart asked worriedly.

Claire surveyed the dark mall for any more signs of movement, but she could barely see in the low lighting. "I'm not sure, but I'm not waiting to find out."

Claire took K-Mart's hand once more and lead her towards the mall's front entrance.

K-Mart couldn't help but look at the various clothing stores they were walking past and felt a strong urge to go into each and every one of them to search for another new outfit, but she knew Claire wouldn't allow a shopping spree at the moment.

Claire could almost see the front entrance and felt the worried knot that was forming on her chest start to vanish.

She looked back and smiled at K-Mart to signify to her that they had made it out alive and K-Mart sweetly smiled back.

Claire pushed back the heavy doors and put up a hand to block out the harsh rays of the sun as her pupils readjusted to the bright lighting.

The vast expanse of Las Vegas in ruins made the knot of worry reappear back on Claire's chest as soon as it had left. They had a long way to go before they could reach the safe haven that was located all the way in the Mojave desert.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Claire could feel K-Mart's grip on her hand tighten significantly to a point where a throbbing pain started coursing through her fingers.

K-Mart scanned her eyes across the deserted expanse of Las Vegas and felt a shiver run through her body at the sight of overturned cars and burning electricity poles crackling from small blazes of flames licking the dry air.

Claire felt her heart drop thinking about the journey ahead of them, but she swallowed any doubts and gave K-Mart a reassuring smile. "Guess we have the whole city to ourselves. Isn't this romantic?" Claire said sarcastically, giving K-Mart a reason to smile.

K-Mart's fear eased slightly from Claire's courageous attitude and she felt extremely lucky to have Claire by her side.

They started to make their way down the empty road of the Las Vegas strip as trademark buildings devoid of any activity gazed down eerily at them.

K-Mart stared at the once extravagant Caesar's Palace and felt a tinge of sadness overtake her because of the building's forgotten beauty which was now destroyed and abandoned.

Claire looked around her with her senses tuned up as far as she could muster. The Strip contained too much large and colorful objects and locations to take in all at once. To absorb everything, Claire's eyes swiveled left and right at a fervent pace.

K-Mart was les observant and hummed nervously as she walked hand-in-hand with Claire. K-Mart was humming a tune that sounded familiar to Claire, but she couldn't remember exactly where she had heard the melody before. What are you annoyingly humming if I may ask?" Claire said and looked around for any signs of danger.

K-Mart frowned and stopped humming. "You mean you don't remember?" she asked and stopped walking, causing the unaware Claire to propel backwards.

"Ah, K-Mart, warn me if you're just going to stop," Claire warned, but K-Mart pretended to not have even heard her.

"You didn't answer my question," K-Mart said with a glare and hands on her hips.

"We really don't have time for this K-Mart. We really should get going," Claire ordered, but K-Mart refused to budge.

K-Mart folded her arms angrily and defiantly. "Fine, fine," Claire gave in and ran her hand exasperatedly through her dark red hair. "What are you humming?" She decided to just play along or else they would never make it back to the convoy before dark.

"You're such a jerk!" K-Mart cried out and turned away from Claire. She spoke with her back turned to Claire. "I can't believe you don't even remember our song!"

"Our song?" Claire asked surprised. "Since when did we even have a song?"

K-Mart whirled back around and stomped towards Claire until they were nose to nose. Claire froze and felt a shiver run down her spine - K-Mart was strikingly beautiful up close. "Our song," K-Mart whispered. "Remember? The first time we met was when the song was playing on your radio - it was what brought you to my attention in the first place," K-Mart said and looked genuinely hurt that Claire didn't remember.

Claire gulped and felt guilt strike her. She remembered it now. The night she first met K-Mart was when K-Mart had approached her because of the song playing on the radio. She had asked her what it was and Claire was left paralyzed at the girl's beauty as the fire from that night lit up her lovely features.

From that moment on, they traveled everywhere together, and pretty soon, Claire found herself falling in love with her.

K-Mart's eyes watered when Claire didn't respond. She was about to turn and walk away when Claire grabbed for her arm. She spun her around and kissed her. K-Mart's eyes opened wide in surprise, but she soon relaxed under Claire's grip.

Claire felt heat rush through her and settle at the lower end of her stomach. K-Mart's lips were warm, soft, and tasted like strawberries. She wasn't thinking about danger and the bleakness the world around them had become. In this moment, only her and K-Mart existed.

When they parted, they were both breathless, panting, with flushed cheeks. K-Mart's softly shaded green eyes were glazed and her lips were parted. She moved in for another kiss, but Claire had to stop her when she heard a noise. Claire turned her head in the direction of the noise, but she didn't see anything. She brushed it off as nothing, but falling debris.

K-Mart clutched onto Claire's arm and smiled. "I love you so much, Claire," she professed with that innocent expression on her face.

Claire felt her heart beat at K-Mart's words as she stared at the young girl. "I-I -," but Claire was cut off by yet another noise behind the casino. Claire instinctively pushed K-Mart behind her and searched the area where she heard the clatter.

Only the sounds of crackling coming from a nearby fire could be heard, but Claire could feel it in her bones that they were not alone.

"Claire?" K-Mart said in a frightened whisper behind her. She could feel K-Mart's fingernails digging into her shoulders.

Claire released her gun from her holster and cocked it. She was ready to put down anything that would ever dare to hurt K-Mart.

Another clatter echoed throughout the empty streets and Claire aimed the pistol ready to blast away the encroaching enemy. A fringe of hair popped from behind the demolished building and a young boy about K-Mart's age appeared in front of them. He had his hands up in the air to reveal that he meant no harm.

Claire refused to put down her gun and K-Mart tapped on her shoulder. "Claire, stop pointing your gun at him, he's human!" K-Mart exclaimed, but Claire didn't want to take any chances. Human or not, no one could be trusted. In Claire's opinion, humans were even more dangerous than zombies - they could lie, deceive, play with your mind. At least zombies showed their true nasty natures to you, unlike humans who could stab you in the back when you least expect it.

"I-I mean no harm," The boy cried out from afar. He looked shaken and dirty, but Claire felt like there was something about the boy that made her unable to let her guard down.

"Claire!" K-Mart cried out behind her. "Have you gone crazy? Stop aiming your gun at him - he's just another survivor!"

Claire didn't listen to K-Mart and spoke to the boy instead. "Who are you?" She shouted at him.

The boy flinched and trembled with fright - he looked as if he was about to pee on himself. Claire heard K-Mart sigh behind her - annoyed at Claire's stubborn personality.

"I-I'm S-steve Burnside," the boy stuttered. "I mean no harm, I swear," he repeated.

Claire reluctantly put down her gun, but she still held it firmly in her hand - ready to shoot if need be.

Steve, hesitantly put his hands down and placed them over his heart. "Y-you almost gave me heart attack!" He cried out and walked over to the two of them.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

As the boy walked closer towards Claire's sights, she could see he was no longer the frightened boy she first thought he was. He had a sort of hardened look to him Claire couldn't quite put her finger on - the appearance of a person who had seen many grim events. He stood about a head taller than Claire despite his young age and his body was lean, but fit.

Claire couldn't find it in herself to relax - to calm her taut muscles that remained ready to take him down if necessary, but Steve didn't show any signs of attacking them. He stood before them with his attire of a military pant and simple combination of t-shirt and vest, with his arms splayed out by his sides.

"I'm not armed, I swear," he said, his voice steady and convincing. Claire saw a small hoop earring sparkle in his left ear under the sun, and she wondered if he thought himself a rebel - he sure had the smug look of one.

K-Mart moved from behind Claire and held out her hand. "Nice to meet you, Steve!" she said cheerily. Steve was taken aback by K-Mart's personable and trusting nature. "This is Claire," she pointed to Claire as if she were Vanna White and then to herself, "You can just call me K-Mart - don't ask why, it's a long story."

Steve hesitantly smiled and then shook K-Mart's hand. His eyes sparkled as he looked at her and Claire's stomach churned at the thought of what was going through the boy's mind. "Nice to meet you, K-Mart," he said with a smile tugging on his lips. "Claire," he said simply and nodded curtly in her direction.

Claire glared at him and only grunted a response. He merely remained smiling and then turned his attention back to K-Mart. "What's a pretty girl like you doing amongst this heap of rubble," he said flirtatiously, as he spread out his arms to point out the less-than-pretty surroundings that was left of Las Vegas.

K-Mart flinched at Steve's unexpected forwardness and Claire had enough of his toying with her. She stepped forward in front of K-Mart, only inches away from Steve - daring him to say or do anything else she deemed inappropriate.

Steve's smug smile was still etched onto his boyish face and he stepped back. His orange-red hair whipped around from the wind gusting by them and he chuckled. "Sorry," he said amusedly as Claire glared at him. "I didn't know I was overstepping any boundaries," he said with a grin and looked at K-Mart and then at Claire - his mind assessing the situation between the two.

Claire stayed threateningly silent while K-Mart only stood still behind her. Claire knew the boy couldn't be trusted, and now she had wished she had just shot him when she first saw him.

"Permit me, if I may be so bold," Steve said with a bit of a snarky tone. "But just how old are you exactly, K-Mart?"

K-Mart's eyes widened in surprise from the unexpected question directed at her, "I-I," she stuttered, but Claire cut her off before she could continue.

"What does it matter?" she said dangerously and stepped forward in a defensive manner.

Steve only smirked and waved a hand dismissively. "I just want to know," he said matter-of-factly. "She does look quite young is all. Possibly, still a minor?" he said, subtly questioning Claire's moral character.

Claire felt her blood boil as her anger peaked at a dangerous rate - it took all she had not to shoot Steve in the face, but she would never do such a thing in front of K-Mart. "Leave now," Claire said lowly, and the chilly tone in her voice made K-Mart shiver slightly - she had never heard Claire speak this way.

Steve didn't seem to be affected in the slightest from Claire's threat, his smile only faded slightly, but he didn't budge. "Did I strike a nerve," he softly said, in his usual cocky tone.

Within seconds, Claire had her gun to his temple. All she saw was red, and she was capable of anything at that moment. Steve was caught by surprise and his cocky grin faded away to Claire's great satisfaction.

K-Mart ran to her side and was trying her best to soothe Claire's now raging anger. "Claire, please, he's not worth it," she whispered in her ear urgently as Steve started t o choke from Claire's grip around his throat. She pressed her pistol's barrel even further into his temple's skin, but K-Mart's calming attempts brought her back to sane ground.

Claire's temper had got the best of her, and she wasn't about to kill the creep in front of the only person she cared about. She furiously released her hold on Steve and left him gasping and choking from her deathly grip around his throat.

"If I see your face around the two of us again, I swear, I won't be so merciful next time," Claire warned as K-Mart held shakily onto her arm.

Steve was still choking and gasping for breath as Claire guided K-Mart onwards. "Ha ha," he chuckled weakly as they turned his back on him. Claire turned her head to see him still smirking as he coughed violently while doubled over. "Y-you're nothing but a pedophile," he spat out, causing Claire to turn back towards him.

"No, don't, Claire," K-Mart begged as she struggled under K-Mart's hold on her. "Don't listen to him, he's just a dirt-bag," K-Mart said to her. Steve unsteadily stood back up and narrowed his eyes at the two, "Me and Wesker will see you two ladies later," he said deeply before he ran away. He was quick and Claire couldn't stop him in time.

She cursed aloud for letting him escape so easily. _Wesker? _She thought to herself. _He was still alive?_

K-Mart stood frozen in spot and clutched onto her bag. "Wesker's still alive?" K-Mart asked aloud what Claire was thinking.

The hair on Claire's back and neck stood on end at the name, and she couldn't help but feel an ominous shift in the air. Claire walked up to K-Mart to hold her in her arms. She could feel K-Mart shivering from either the dropping temperature or from fear. Claire knew how frightened K-Mart was of Wesker ever since she was held captive by him. She's had nightmares almost every night about the man since that awful time.

Claire smoothed K-Mart's golden hair and kissed the top of her head. "I thought you and Alice killed him," K-Mart whispered as Claire held onto her. "I thought it was all over," K-Mart said sadly.

Claire only held onto her tighter as K-Mart muttered about fearing death and losing her, but Claire was too lost in her own thoughts to process K-Mart's words well. She was still thinking about the threat Steve had given them. She didn't want Wesker to take K-Mart away again - the last time nearly killed her when she found out she was taken captive for an experiment. Claire and Alice had done all they could just to bring her back alive.

The last thing Claire wanted was to lose K-Mart again. She picked K-Mart's face up towards her own to stare deeply into the girl's hazel eyes. She gazed in them and saw a youthful innocence that neither reflected her own or anyone else she knew that was still alive. K-Mart was a diamond in the rough - the only light Claire believed still shone a ray of hope in the ruined world and in her own.

"I won't let him take you away again," Claire vowed and kissed her soft lips gently.

K-Mart relaxed in her arms and pressed further into Claire's body. She mumbled something against Claire's lips, but Claire couldn't quite catch it.

"What did you say?" Claire said sweetly as she rubbed one of K-Mart's cheeks.

"I said, please don't stop loving me," K-Mart answered and looked sad with her large eyes sparkling under the bright sun.

Claire felt her cheeks flush from K-Mart's sudden plea, and she kissed her forehead once with a pause of love as she laid her lips against her warm skin. "I will always love you," Claire whispered sincerely and caressed K-Mart's cheek with lingering, tracing fingers.

"Thank you, Claire," K-Mart mumbled against Claire's neck as she longed to simply lay with her in a never ending embrace of comfort and security.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 **

The girls tread the hauntingly silent streets with Claire in the lead, tugging K-Mart along by her hand. Her firm grip on K-Mart's hand sent a warmth which permeated from the origin of the hold and where it settled beneath the flesh of K-Mart's chest. K-Mart took the comfortable silence as an opportunity to gaze at Claire as she focused on the roads ahead of them. The read-head eyes were narrowed with a sharpness as keen as the glint in an eagle's eyes as they surveyed their landscapes for their next prey, but there still was a soft humanity behind those piercing blue eyes of hers which made her unbearably attractive.

K-Mart felt the fire in her stoke into a full-on blaze as her eyes analyzed all the little nuances of Claire's features from her pale, smooth skin, and the faint lines crinkling at her middle brow as she continued to concentrate with an unwavering focus. K-Mart felt a smile involuntarily creep onto her lips and she placed a surprised hand over her mouth with her free hand and traced the upturned curve. Her heart fluttered and the back of her knees felt weak from desire. She wondered to herself, if this was what true love made one feel.

Claire didn't let her guard down for even a fraction of second. After that strange Steve Burnside introduced himself, Claire has been on edge. She replayed the conversation over in her head and felt her stomach lurch with both fear and hate for the guy. She regretted not shooting him down when she had the chance, but all she could do now was protect K-Mart no matter what the cost. Hr mind focused on the small soft hand in her own calloused one and she made an oath to never let anyone harm the girl beside her. The road was so empty and long, but she'd continue to trek forward as long as she was still breathing until she'd find a safe place to make a home for K-Mart because she deserved to have a place where she could call her own.

"Claire," K-Mart softly called out, and Claire ceased in her steps.

"What is it K-Mart? Are you hurt? Did you see something?" Claire spewed out her questions in a frenzy, but K-Mart just nodded her head no with a slight smile on her face.

"No, nothing like that," K-Mart replied and continued to smile. Claire fluttered her eyes and waited for K-Mart to continue. "I just wanted to say thank you… for everything." K-Mart's eyes softened and grew somewhat sad, but her smile did not falter.

Claire was taken by surprise at K-Mart's sudden forlorn disposition. "You don't need to thank me, K-Mart…" Claire whispered, and roved her eyes around their surroundings - still in defense mode.

K-Mart giggled softly. "Always so alert," she teased and Claire scoffed.

"I need to be if we have any chance of making it to Carlos' group all the way in the desert."

"I think we should just forget about them and make our own little spot close by," K-Mart suggested, and elicited a raised eyebrow from Claire.

"What? Are you crazy, we will never survive on our own, especially in this area. It is just too dangerous here," Claire analyzed and started to press forward, but K-Mart stopped her when she didn't move.

"I don't think we should keep going," K-Mart said, fear clear in her voice.

"Why? What has got into you?" Claire was starting to grow impatient from K-Mart's childish and naïve suggestions.

K-Mart couldn't even answer Claire's question herself, but an instinct within her warned her of some impending danger if they continued onwards towards their destination. She felt it beneath her breast, close to her heart, but it resonated from within her soul like some beacon or compass guided by some guardian angel. She wondered if one of her family members was sending her a warning from the afterlife - whatever the source of the uneasiness, K-Mart could not shake the bad feeling starting to grow and echo within her.

"I can't explain it, but I feel like something bad is going to happen." Her voice was small and uncharacteristically sad from her usual chipper tone.

Claire considered her seriously for a minute, but her logical reasoning couldn't accept a change of plans based on a feeling. "You're probably just dehydrated or tired. Don't worry so much. I'm here and I promise I'll protect you," Claire assured and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

K-Mart's expression remained unsure, but she looked into Claire's resolute eyes and agreed to press forward. She took a hesitant step and forced her body to move towards their destination.

Claire couldn't help but inwardly laugh at K-Mart's silly premonitions. She was the last person to believe in phenomenon's such as intrinsic warnings, but then, she would have never believed in flesh-eating zombies before either.

She shook the thought out of her head and logic once more took over in her mind and she remained primarily focused on the road in front of them. She knew the best chances for their survival was to meet with Carlos and Alice's convoy because only the two of them would never last for long, and Claire hated to admit it, but she needed help. Who would be able to survive a zombie with only themselves and an immature teenager? No, Claire had to bring K-Mart to safety and that was where Carlos and Alice are.

K-Mart's breathing was growing shallow and she felt slightly faint as the sun continued to beat down on them relentlessly with its strong rays. She lowered her hat to place the brim securely over her eyes, but the hat only squeezed her head suffocating her temples and she took it off in a huff. She placed the back of her hand over her forehead and felt her temperature radiating dangerously from her skin, but she didn't want to tell Claire, afraid she'd only solidify her weakness to her and she wanted to prove to Claire that despite her age, she could hold her own. But despite her will, her vision swam before her and distorted to nauseating blurs and only streaks of red from Claire's hair swirled in front of her eyes. She forced her legs to continue forth, but she started to buckle and Claire felt the limpness in K-Mart's hand and she spun around to see K-Mart falling to the ground. Fortunately, Claire grabbed her in time before she hit the floor and she cradled the girl's head on her lap. K-Mart's eyes were closed, but she was still breathing in very shallow short bursts.

"K-Mart!" Claire cried out worriedly, and grasped the sides of her face. "K-Mart," she repeated, "Talk to me," But K-Mart wouldn't respond to either of Claire's touches or cries. Claire easily scooped the smaller girl in her arms and frantically searched the area for a safe place to rest and quickly picked a convenience store closes to them. She jogged to the store's entrance with K-Mart dangling limply in her arms. As soon as she reached the front of the store, she peered in to the window display, but only saw darkness. She had no other choice but to take a chance and enter the store despite not knowing fully who or what may be inside. She pushed the door open with her shoulder and held her breath.

Her eyed did their best to adjust to the change of light and she flickered her eyes over the store for any movement. She didn't see any disturbances save only for the disarray of bottles of pills under the lone flickering light at the back of the store. Claire was breathing so loudly, she found it difficult to hear any of the ambience which may warn her of any danger, so she tried to calm herself and her breathing settled into a soft, neutral rhythm. Claire decided to settle down behind the store's counter and placed K-Mart gingerly down after setting a blanket on the ground.

Claire surveyed K-Mart for noticeable injuries, but there were none on her. She touched her forehead and pulled back fearfully. She was burning up! Claire frantically roved her eyes around the store for any medicine and saw one lone bottle on the shelf. She quickly ran over and grabbed the bottle, but to her disappointment, the bottle had been emptied. Claire growled in frustration and searched the store for any more medicine, but it appeared it had been wiped clean long ago when the breakout first hit. She ran back over to K-Mart and took a small handkerchief from her pocket and wet the cloth with the little water they had left. After making sure the cloth was sufficiently wet, she carefully laid it against K-Mart's burning forehead. She looked helplessly at the unconscious girl and prayed she would wake up soon.

"K-Mart," she whispered softly. "Why didn't you tell me you were sick? You idiot," she scolded, but her tone held no anger in it, but instead, it was laced with sadness.

After making sure K-Mart was still breathing, Claire resumed searching the store for anything she could use, but only discarded bottles and broken glass littered the ground. She spotted the entrance to the store's storage area, but paused when she realized how unbelievably dark it was back there.

Claire clicked her tongue impatiently at her on cowardice and said aloud, "Come on Claire. Are you still a child? Afraid of the dark are you? You've killed countless of the undead, but a little lack of light has you frozen? What a coward… K-Mart needs you," she finished softly, and steeled herself for the worst. She released her pistol from the holster and took a defensive stance with her gun upraised close to her head. She took a deep breath and edged her way towards the doorway while she listened closely for any signs of zombie trademark shuffling, but she only heard silence. When she reached the threshold, she peered in and was met with a view of darkness so black it was like a wall in front of her.

Claire took her small flashlight from her pocket and turned it on to direct the small beam of light around the room. What she saw made her jaw drop and her legs buckle beneath her. She fell on her behind with her arms splayed out behind her. In the storage area were countless rotting corpses horribly dismembered by something inhuman. Some of the bodies were zombies, but some retained humanized features, but were indiscernible from the blood and gore marring their faces. Claire felt what little she ate reach the peak of her throat, but she quickly laid a hand over her mouth before anything could come out. She got up and leaned against the counter bedside the door and breathed in deeply between dry heaves. Claire had seen many macabre things in her past, but this topped the list and broke the radar of disgusting things she's seen. Claire froze when she realized that whatever or whoever had done this might still be around. Quickly, she made her way back to Claire and dipped her hands beneath her to pick her up, but a noise stopped her and Claire felt the blood in her veins freeze, cease to flow from the sheer terror flowing through her like deathly ice. Claire's ears strained to hear a low shush-shush noise coming from the back room - akin to a corpse dragging itself across a floor. Claire's eyes widened in fear and all she could do was lift K-Mart in her arms to head for the door.

Claire willed herself to move to the entrance, but the door had been locked shut from outside. Impossible! Claire screamed in her mind and she pulled fiercely on the door, but it wouldn't budge, it only rattled from the sound of the chains wound around the outside. Claire felt a scream wanting to tear from her throat, but she was so terrified, it left her mute and only a whimper came out. Claire still hear the shush-shush sound making its way towards her and despite not being religious, she prayed for a miracle.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The shuffling noise grew closer, grew louder until it reverberated every part of her mind like a haunting echo repeating the arrival of her imminent death. Claire held her breath and felt the trickling of her sweat tickle her spine as it slid slowly down the length of her back. Her hand was still grasped tightly on the store entrance's handle and it quaked from the terror streaming through her nervous system. The vibrations from her hand shook the chains on the opposite side of the door, reminding Claire of Jacob Marley's haunting warning to his friend Mr. Scrooge in a timeless classic. She couldn't help but smile at the track her mind had taken off on and presumed anybody who was near death would dwell on the first silly thought to cross their mind.

A soft breeze blew behind her and ruffled the small hairs on the nape of her neck. Strangely, the soft wind woke up her brain's synapses and awoke her with a determined reminder of the promise she had made to K-Mart the first time they had met. Her mind flashed back to the memory and it lingered there for a while as she once again envisioned the tears in K-Mart's eyes dazzling the light shade of green irises staring back at her. The tears reflected the sorrow in her soul - a sadness no young girl K-Mart's age should be familiar with, and it elicited a deep sympathy from Claire. She held K-Mart's shaking hand in her own steady one and promised her with all her heart and soul, she would look after her - that she was going to be her new family. The girl smiled after hearing Claire's reassuring promise and her sad eyes were replaced with bright happiness. Claire fell in love with K-Mart at that moment. She would never admit it to herself, but she loved K-Mart instantly after seeing her smile. The memory drove her back to reality and gave her a new kind of courage she never believed she had.

With a new resolve, Claire took in a deep breath to steel herself and spun around, ready to take on anything she was to come face-to-face with. Her heart stopped as her body turned and she was still shaking uncontrollably, but the newfound strength gave her the courage to face the unknown threat. Immediately, she locked eyes with an abomination. It was a monstrous deformed zombie with oozing flesh which was slipping off its body. Some fell with a splat to the ground and she nearly gagged at the sight, but the worst of it was its split face which was so hacked, Claire could barely make out its gender, but it certainly didn't matter anymore for it was dead or _undead_ for that matter. It lumbered more than walked and dragged its lumpy leg behind it making a hushed sound from its lifeless limb being dragged on the ground behind it. The face held no expression for it was cut in two (an attempt by the last victim it encountered) and the lips of the mouth hung like dried bits of beef jerky, but inside its mouth was a tentacle-like spear which waggled like some kind of twisted worm - it looked deadly with its razor sharp end and Claire knew the sick extension was the zombie's main weapon. Claire could no longer stand analyzing its features - her stomach could not take in any more gruesome details.

The zombie was quickly gapping the distance between them and Claire sidestepped over to the counter to make sure K-Mart was still behind it. Claire quickly got on her tiptoes to peek behind the counter, but only saw the blanket K-Mart had been lying on. She gasped in horror and assumed the worst. Had the zombie already got to K-Mart? Her blood froze in terror and she felt all valiance leave her body as quickly as it came. No. It just couldn't be, she assured herself. Her eyes swiveled back to the zombie and it now had one arm upraised towards her as its useless leg continued to drag and make the same haunting sound.

Claire felt devoid of energy after seeing K-Mart gone as the zombie lunged forward. Claire was too slow to react in her state of stupor and fell to the ground as the zombie toppled her easily with its bulky weight. She fell with a grunt and felt the wind being knocked out of her instantly. Her head hit the ground hard and caused her ears to ring incessantly with a tinny noise - deafening her to the zombie's enraged howls. She wanted to scream, but the lack of air in her lungs made it impossible. The zombie's drool or bile - whatever it was - covered Claire's face as it loomed over her like a predator on top of its prey. Claire gasped in both horror and disgust as she struggled to push the heavy zombie off of her, but her efforts proved useless. The zombie thrashed her relentlessly with its body as the tentacle lurched forward in an attempt to stab her chest, her face, any part of her it could take aim at. Claire was quickly losing the battle and she knew it. Her hand frantically searched for the pistol she usually kept at her hip and attempted to release the hold of the holster, but the zombie's bile made her hands too slippery to unfasten the slip.

She prepared herself for death and braced herself for the pain she was soon going to feel when the sharp edges of the tentacle pierced her flesh, but then a loud bang erupted throughout the small convenience. The zombie was struck hard as Claire felt its body rattle violently on top of her. It fell forward and its dead weight nearly crushed her, but K-Mart's voice brought some life back in her muscles.

"Claire!" her high voice sounded even higher from fear. "Are you alright, Claire!"

"Yes! I'm okay!" Claire responded when she gasped in a large gulp of breath back into her lungs as K-Mart helped her throw the defeated zombie off of her. As the zombie slumped lifelessly sideways, K-Mart's worried face appeared in its place. Claire breathed a sigh of relief and felt a surge of happiness overwhelm her tired body. K-Mart grabbed her hand to pull her up and Claire immediately wrapped her arms around the girl. K-Mart nearly toppled backwards from the force of Claire's embrace, but returned the hug by wrapping her lithe arms around Claire's neck.

Claire breathed in K-Mart's uniquely sweet scent and felt the urge to never let her go again. "I thought you were gone," Claire sadly whispered into the crook of K-Mart's neck, sending delightful shivers through the smaller girl's body.

"I'm here, Claire," K-Mart simply said, and smiled as the older girl hugged her even tighter. Claire's grip crushed her ribs slightly, but the pain was worth it for Claire had never hugged her like she was now.

But suddenly, Claire released her hold on her and lightly punched K-Mart's shoulder.

"Ow!" K-Mart said, and nursed the tender spot with her fingers. She pouted and said, "What was that for?"

"For making me think you were dead," Claire simply said, trying her best to hold back her tears. She could not and would not cry in front of K-Mart. "Where were you!" Claire yelled as she crossed her arms in an attempt to stop herself from bursting into tears.

"I was hiding in the back after I saw this ugly thing coming after you. Did you see what was back there? Dozens of rotting, chewed up bodies. Ick!" K-Mart made a disgusted noise and stuck out her tongue to emphasize her disgust. "Crazy what must have went down here, huh? Do you think that thing has been eating those poor bodies back there? What is it even doing here?" K-Mart was going off topic and rambling again as she always did whenever she wanted to make Claire forget her anger towards her.

"When did you even wake up?" Claire retuned them back on topic.

K-Mart turned her eyes upwards as she thought and placed a ponderous hand on her chin as she mused. Any other time she would look adorable to Claire, but Claire was too angry at K-Mart for making her worry to fawn over her cute pose. "Hmm, I guess I woke up when I heard you jangling the door. Those chains can really echo in your head even when you are passed out," she said, and pointed to the locked door.

Claire tried her best to control her temper and reminded herself that K-Mart had just saved her life although she hated to admit it. Claire turned her eyes to the floor and felt pathetically weak - she was the one who was supposed to be K-Mart's protector not the other way around. She shuffled her foot and felt uncomfortable at the thought of a ditzy teenager being her savior. She felt herself blush from shame and hung her head low to try and hide the redness on her cheeks away from K-Mart's sight.

K-Mart cocked her head curiously to the side at seeing Claire begin to act uncomfortable and stepped closer to towards her for a better view of her face. Claire turned her head as far as she could to her right, but K-Mart would not give up. K-Mart moved her head at an angle and saw the blush stain Claire's cheeks with blotches of red. K-Mart felt a smile creep on her lips and she suppressed a delighted giggle. Claire was embarrassed by the fact that she had to be saved by K-Mart and K-Mart reveled in the switch of their roles.

Claire clenched her jaw as she saw from the sides of her eyes K-Mart smiling like an idiot. She gulped and awaited the barrage of teasing which was always inevitable from K-Mart, but K-Mart did not say anything. Instead, she felt K-Mart kiss Claire's blushing cheek and she turned her eyes back towards the girl.

K-Mart smiled softly and had a look of soft understanding in her eyes. The blonde girl placed a chaste kiss on Claire's lips and laughed softly as Claire flinched from the unexpected contact. K-Mart felt her heart swell with adoration at the endearing nuances which made her love Claire - how such an outwardly strong woman could be so easily reduced to someone shy and adorably awkward. K-Mart placed a longer more forceful kiss on Claire's lips and urged Claire to allow her entrance in her mouth.

Claire felt the taste of pink bubblegum overtake her taste buds and she nearly swooned from the sweetness coating her own tongue. She felt K-Mart's body push close up against her and she gasped in the younger girl's mouth. K-Mart smirked against their kiss and roved her gloved hands over Claire's curves making Claire feel weak and strangely vulnerable. She was too tired to push K-Mart off of her - the guilt of taking advantage of a much younger girl seeping out of her morals. All Claire wanted was to relish the moment she was sharing with K-Mart.

K-Mart removed her lips from Claire's and looked at her with lustful eyes and Claire gulped audibly from K-Mart's determined stare - a look that made her look older than she was. K-Mart smiled and moved her head to Claire's neck to nip lightly then forcibly on the soft flesh. Her teeth scraped teasingly down the length of her neck, sending shockwaves of pleasure to Claire's core.

Claire arched her neck to allow K-Mart more access as K-Mart's legs moved in between Claire's legs and pressed upwards. Claire gritted her teeth to suppress a moan, but it appeared K-Mart desired to hear her vocalize her pleasure. K-Mart's legs pushed even further upwards as she continued to suck on Claire's neck, leaving Claire no choice but to moan out loud. Claire realized it was an inopportune time to be doing such things, but K-Mart was being too hard to refuse. Claire swiveled her head to the side and caught sight of slight movement. K-Mart was now sucking even harder on her neck and Claire did her best to ignore the pleasure throbbing in strong waves throughout her entire body and settling below her abdomen. Another catch of movement and her eyes quickly lit up with focus as they locked on to the zombie pushing itself back up for round two. There was a gaping hole in its back where K-Mart's shotgun had made contact, but it amazingly was still mobile - its slack face turning towards them and heading towards their direction.

K-Mart had not noticed and was now squeezing her hands on Claire's waist where she was most sensitive. Claire couldn't stop gasping and panting as her eyes widened with fear. She couldn't take her eyes off the reanimated zombie as K-Mart left her breathless with her kisses and squeezes.

"K-M-mart, w-wait," she struggled to gasp out, but K-Mart was ignoring her. Her thigh was rubbing relentlessly against Claire's core and Claire squeezed her eyes tightly as she struggled to calm herself, but K-Mart would not allow to herself to do so easily. The zombie was making its way closer each passing second and Claire stared wide-eyed at its split face as she struggled to battle the feelings of both pleasure and terror in her body.


	7. Chapter 7

Claire's breath was caught in her throat while K-Mart's teeth lightly scraped across the sensitive flesh. The younger blonde gave Claire no moment of respite to catch her breath, but after relinquishing K-Mart's hands from her waist, to K-Mart's puzzlement, Claire pushed K-Mart behind her and swiftly withdrew her pistol to aim at the creature's head (or what was left of it) and squeezed the trigger.

The shot rang unnervingly in Claire's ears, but she felt immediate relief when the zombie dropped in a crumpled heap from its fatal wound. This time, Claire approached it carefully and kicked it once then twice, but it never moved an inch. After making extra sure it was finally killed, Claire slacked her shoulders to release the tension in her muscles.

"What the hell?" K-Mart cried out.

Claire turned around and raised an eyebrow at her. "It wasn't dead yet," she simply stated, and shut her eyes briefly - finally feeling exhaustion hit her hard. "Everybody knows you shoot a zombie in the head," Claire said and K-Mart growled in frustration.

"I thought I did shoot it in the head!" K-Mart declared in surprise. She raised her arms up and then placed them on her hips in disbelief - she looked so much like a generic teenager then and Claire cringed at the reminder of their age differences. Claire wondered if she would ever get over how much younger K-Mart was than her, but then K-Mart suddenly shifted her composure and walked over to Claire to wrap her arms around her neck once more, and she looked older again with a mature resolute gleam in her eyes.

"K-Mart, not now," Claire halfheartedly groaned. She felt K-Mart's hands start roving up and down Claire's waist again. "No more fooling around… ever again," Claire joked and pulled K-Mart's hands off her hips, but K-Mart only placed them back onto Claire's waist immediately.

K-Mart pouted and gave the most ridiculous puppy-dog eyes expression Claire had ever seen her use. K-Mart had used the same trick many times to get her way and always, Claire would bend to her will.

"But Claire," K-Mart whined, "It's not my fault that the big bad zombie almost ate our brains while we were making out." She bit her bottom lip to suppress a giggle as a slight shade of pink crept onto Claire's cheeks. She shuffled uncomfortably from K-Mart's yearning eyes and rubbed at the back of her neck.

Claire ran a hand through her messy red hair and sighed heavily. She looked away from K-Mart's exaggerated puppy-dog eyes and focused her eyes elsewhere in the dingy store.

K-Mart felt her heart flutter as Claire ran a hand through her messy red hair - she always could not resist Claire's lusciously red locks and the way her hair was always so attractively tousled always brought a wave of desire towards K-Mart's core. K-Mart then mindlessly reached out to grasp a strand of Claire's red hair and played with its ends. She twirled the red strands around her forefinger and smoothed it out, feeling the soft, fine texture of Claire's hair. K-Mart was smiling and wasn't even aware of it.

Claire watched the younger girl play with her hair and saw a softness in K-Mart's eyes which reflected a maturity beyond her years. Claire could not figure out which K-Mart would appear at times - she could be childish and playful, very much suitable for her age or sometimes, thoughtful and quiet. When K-Mart would become silent and become deep in her own thoughts, Claire would watch her closely and not say a word - she would watch as K-Mart dove into her own far-off thoughts or float through a world in which innocence had tragically become a hazy afterthought. She was so young in years, but she had been forced to mature overnight because of the ugliness overshadowing the world - not very unlike how reality worked before a zombie apocalypse, but this world gave her no chance to just be a normal teenager. There was a deep sadness she would never allow Claire long to see which was what made K-Mart so complex and intriguing for Claire to observe and slowly peel away the layers to the girl's true self.

K-Mart boldly ran her hand through Claire's head and tangled her fingers in the thick head of red hair. She placed her hand against Claire's scalp and firmly pressed down to pull Claire's face closer to hers. Their lips nearly touched, but K-Mart instead placed their foreheads together and simply breathed in Claire's scent deeply while her lips grazed softly against Claire's.

When K-Mart opened her eyes a thin veil of tears were glazed over her green eyes making them look sorrowfully beautifully. A whisper of sadness permeated from the younger girl and Claire was mesmerized by the intensity of the moment they shared. K-Mart smiled widely despite the glint of threatening tears pooling at the bottom of her eyes. The smile hid a tragedy only K-Mart knew. Claire felt as if K-Mart wanted to say something, tell her something she yet did not know, but instead K-Mart giggled as the tears dried up and vanished from her eyes as if they were never there.

Claire was taken by surprise from the sudden shift of the tension in the air and only watched as K-Mart inched her face even closer towards Claire. Claire realized the reveal was only brief when K-Mart shattered the sad moment by kissing Claire's nose and then poking her cheek immaturely.

Claire made a surprised noise and K-Mart then poked out the tip of her tongue playfully and then said, "Come on, let's get going!" and walked towards the backroom. "I spotted an exit back there when I was hiding earlier. Come on, I'll show you." K-Mart walked on ahead without waiting for Claire.

"W-wait, K-Mart!" Claire cried out and jogged forward to catch up. She paused when the darkness of the backroom greeted her. "K-Mart! Where are you?" She yelled out and strained her eyes to catch a glimpse of the blonde head of hair, but was then blinded by a light coming from a door being cracked open.

K-Mart stood at the opened exit with the sunlight streaming forward and illuminating the room with a dreamlike glow. K-Mart eagerly ushered Claire over. "Come on! Unless you want to stay here in this mass grave!" K-Mart shouted through cupped hands. She smiled which looked misplaced after saying such a grim sentence - it was strange to Claire to hear such things coming from such an angelic face. Claire walked towards K-Mart and left the store behind with K-Mart quickly following close beside her.

Claire's eyes hurt a little when the sun directed its rays into her sensitive pupils - she was so used to the shadowy room of the store. She hovered a hand over her eyes to shade the blinding light and eventually her eyes became adjusted to the shift in light. Claire immediately walked towards the front of the store to confirm something before they moved on.

K-Mart silently followed close by her side, but looked curiously when Claire changed their direction back towards the store. When Claire spotted the chains and the lock on the store door's front entrance, she felt an anger rising beneath her chest. Claire didn't even have to guess who it was who chained the doors and left them to die. She quickly looked around and deduced Steve Burnside was not far possibly watching them. Claire only wished she could see the look on his face when he saw them escape from his trap.

"Claire, what's up?" K-Mart's soft voice called her out of her thoughts.

"That Steve Burnside guy tried to kill us. Asshole," Claire seethed through gritted teeth and started to shake from the rage overcoming her. She nearly lost K-Mart and her life because of the stupid guy and all she wanted at the moment was to get equal.

K-Mart placed a soothing hand on her shoulder and said, "How are you so sure?"

Claire turned around quickly and said, "Who else could it be, K-Mart? It was only a while ago when he threatened us. He was probably watching us the whole time waiting for the right moment to take you away to Wesker again."

Wesker's name made K-Mart freeze and the girl once again looked distant and sad. Claire immediately regretted ever mentioning him and she quickly placed her hands on K-Mart's trembling shoulders. "Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say his name," Claire sincerely apologized. "I know how much it affects you, forgive me," she softly whispered and pulled K-Mart's head to her chest. She felt the girl tremble slightly and wondered what kind of horrors K-Mart was subjected to. Claire's heart grew heavy with guilt and helplessness when she remembered the terrible time when she thought she had lost K-Mart forever.

K-Mart sniffled softly, but ceased any more oncoming tears. She looked up at Claire's face and gazed at her protector and wondered what would ever happen to her if she were to suddenly disappear and leave her alone in such a scary world.

"Please, don't leave me, Claire," K-Mart begged like little child and grabbed a handful of Claire's vest in her hands where she twisted the fabric tightly in her palms.

Claire hugged K-Mart tightly and placed her chin atop K-Mart's head. "You don't ever have to worry about me leaving you," she firmly vowed. K-Mart smiled and Claire did too, but then a disembodied voice broke the silence and Claire immediately pulled away from K-Mart, pushed her behind her while taking her gun out of her holster to ready herself to shoot on sight. The voice belonged to Steve, she would recognize the snugness in his voice anywhere, but she couldn't place exactly where it was coming from. K-Mart stood as close to Claire as she could until it looked like they were joined at the hip.

"Didn't think you would make it out," Steve's calm voice called out from nowhere in particular.

Claire surveyed the entire area quickly with her eyes, but couldn't place a specific spot due to the echo effect of such large and empty streets.

"I was hoping you'd be dead Claire, so I can take the little cutie off your hands," Steve's voice echoed.

Claire desperately searched the buildings, the windows, the alleyways, but saw no sight of him. She felt K-Mart dig her hands into her back fearfully while trying to help find Steve's location, but she had no luck either.

"Come out you fucking coward!" Claire was tired of the games and wanted to end things without the unnecessary dramatics. This was no horror movie and Claire didn't exactly like how Steve was playing up the whole evil villain thing.

"Tsk Tsk, watch your language around the young lady," Steve annoyingly reprimanded and angered Claire to a point of blind rage.

"Have you always been such a prick?" Claire dished out her own insult, but Steve only laughed and his laugh echoed profoundly throughout the deathly still streets. For a moment, Claire thought she finally found the location where Steve was hiding, but she was still not completely sure. "I'm sick of your hiding little boy" she barked and her words seemed to have struck a nerve.

"Shut your mouth, you bitch!" Steve roared, clearly angry from Claire's words.

Claire couldn't help but smile. It seemed Steve had some fire in him after all and wasn't just Wesker's new lapdog. She then felt an urgent tug at her back and looked behind her to see K-Mart gesturing with her eyes towards the building to the left of them. Claire followed K-Mart's eyes to the top of a building up towards the roof where she saw a vague outline of a figure. From what she could tell, it was Steve. She spoke once more to him to confirm his location.

"Aw, I'm sorry did I hurt your little feelings," Claire teased, and Steve immediately responded.

"I said shut up!" Steve yelled. "You'll get yours soon just wait. I will take K-Mart to Wesker, but before I do I'll make sure I'll have my share of fun with her. He never said I couldn't." Steve laughed and his laughter echoed from the spot where Claire had her eyes on.

Claire immediately shot her gun in the direction of Steve's location and she heard a pained groan echo followed by an agonized scream.

"You shot me in the arm! You'll pay for this, you bitch!" Steve shouted out hysterically and Claire shot towards the roof again, but Steve had already departed from the area - his groans and moans faded away in the distance.

Claire was breathing heavily and she had hoped her shot was more fatal because the little bastard deserved an untimely end. She then cursed herself for missing and the repercussions of her missed shot frightened her. If Steve somehow did get his filthy hands on K-Mart it would be her fault for not ending him here and now. She shuddered from the thought, but tried to shake the possibility away from her mind. She thought to go after him, but didn't want to risk putting K-Mart in any more danger. She'd need to bring her to a safe place before going after Steve herself.

"Claire, you alright?" K-Mart asked, and touched Claire's cheeks pink from adrenaline.

"I can't believe I missed," Claire growled softly and looked at the rooftop with fiery eyes.

"He's gone. Ran away like the coward he really is," Claire sighed and turned to K-Mart to pull her close to her hip. "Come on, we won't let a little prick like him stop us from going back to Carlos and Alice." Claire smiled for the first time in a long time which brought a smile to K-Mart's own face seeing Claire's beautifully brightened expression.

K-Mart kissed Claire once on the lips and then once more on her cheek. "Thank you for always being here for me," K-Mart softly whispered in Claire's ear and then gazed appreciatively at her protector.

Claire took K-Mart's hands in hers and gave her a small smile. "You don't have to thank me for protecting you K-Mart because whether you want me to or not, I'm always here for you." Claire spoke softly, gently and unlike her usual apathetic tone and K-Mart realized her words were sincere.

K-Mart hugged Claire tightly and felt the older girl's muscles underneath her vest and felt safe - she knew as long as Claire was by her side, she'd have her own personal sanctuary.


	8. Chapter 8

"Claire, I think my arm is falling off," K-Mart exaggerated and groaned as she rubbed at her sore shoulder. She shifted the pack up, but continued to groan at the weight crushing on her shoulder blade.

Claire turned and held out a hand for the bag K-Mart was carrying. "Let me hold your pack then," Claire said simply.

K-Mart smiled, but she did not relinquish her hold on her backpack. "It's okay. I was just testing you to see if you'd offer to carry it for me." She grinned widely and said, "Congratulations, you passed."

Claire's right eye twitched slightly from annoyance. They were going on a dangerous journey all the way across the desert with that lunatic Steve Burnside tracking their trail, and the last thing Claire had the patience for was being pranked. Claire growled, "K-Mart," but bit her tongue, trying not to lose her patience completely.

K-Mart chuckled nervously and rubbed at the back of her neck. "Ah, come on Claire, I was just trying to lighten up the mood." She winked at Claire, but Claire ignored her antics.

Claire then turned away from K-Mart without another word and continued walking onwards.

"Aw, you're so grumpy, Claire," K-Mart teased as she bounced up along Claire's side. She looked up at Claire's face, trying to gain her attention.

Claire turned her face away from K-Mart and K-Mart poked Claire's cheek. "K-Mart!" Claire cried out, but K-Mart still refused to take her seriously.

"You're so cute when you're angry. I can't help myself," K-Mart giggled and cupped an hand over her mouth to suppress a burst of laughter.

Claire gritted her teeth and tried to ignore K-Mart and her always inopportune teasing. She sometimes wondered how K-Mart could remain so light-hearted when the world was practically hell on earth. "I can never understand some things about you, K-Mart," Claire sighed and kept walking through the sandy path. Her boots felt heavy from the dirt somehow finding its way inside and grating against the soles of her feet with each step she took.

K-Mart skipped alongside Claire and said with a smile still on her face, "If we don't laugh once in a while, Claire, then that means we will be defeated. We won't be any better than those brain-dead zombies animated without emotion. Humans are made to laugh - it keeps us going insane from sorrow."

Claire looked into K-Mart's eyes and saw that she truly meant what she had said - no humor alighting her eyes anymore. Claire hated to admit it to herself, but the girl spoke with a wisdom which once again surprised her coming from someone so young. Like always, K-Mart switched from childish teen to someone who seemed to have seen the world, and always, it would never cease to surprise Claire. "I suppose you're right," Claire said simply and did not say anything more as she thought about what K-Mart had said.

K-Mart's smile widened. "Is that your way of admitting that you may be wrong for once." Her eyes shined with amusement while she stared at Claire still deep in thought.

Claire remained silent and continued to walk and ignored K-Mart's prodding. K-Mart began to grow impatient from Claire's cold silence and huffed, "You're so stubborn, Claire." K-Mart readjusted the shotgun on her shoulder and Claire eyed the weapon. K-Mart holding such a powerful and dangerous weapon always brought an uneasiness to Claire, but she knew it couldn't be avoided in such a world.

"You know, Claire," K-Mart began, "I thought I saw a mall a while back. Do you think-"

Claire cut her off before she could finish. "No, K-Mart. Before you ask, we can't do any more scavenging for clothes."

"But I just need to get something really quick," K-Mart replied vaguely.

"What could you possibly _need_ in a mall at a time like this?" Claire asked her, genuinely curious.

"I promise I won't take long," K-Mart pleaded, and avoided answering Claire's question.

"We'd have to turn back and waste precious daylight, K-Mart," Claire tried reasoning with her, but her young mind would not let the sight of the mall go.

"Just give me thirty, no twenty, minutes," she persuaded, and looked up at Claire with bright, pleading eyes. K-Mart directed her eyes at an angle where the sunlight reflected off her irises making them shine like emeralds. Claire frowned and stared helplessly at K-Mart's expression. Claire eventually sighed and dropped her pack off her shoulders where it slid to her hand.

"Fine," Claire sighed again, "but only fifteen minutes," she told her, and K-Mart smiled.

"Thanks, Claire," She said happily and kissed Claire on the cheek. "I promise I'll be done before you know it."

Sure, Claire thought. The last time K-Mart said that we were in a shop for close to two hours scouring for useless clothes and accessories.

K-Mart grabbed Claire's hand and pulled her along with a strength Claire didn't think the skinny girl even possessed.

"Ow, K-Mart, that's an arm that you're pulling you know," Claire said.

"Aw, don't be such a baby," K-Mart responded, but then she added, "Although, I love it when you act soft sometimes. It shows me that you're not always the one on top." She winked at the suggestive comment and Claire gulped loudly.

"Let's just get going," Claire said flustered, even though she tried very hard to hide her obvious nervousness.

K-Mart laughed at Claire's frazzled state and said, "I love it when you get all shy about such things. It just goes to show that age doesn't always mean more experience."

"What?" Claire cried aloud. "Just what exactly are you suggesting? I have no experience with sex?"

K-Mart laughed even harder. "Claire!" she feigned surprise. "You have such a dirty mind! I wasn't talking about sex. I was talking about how you're always the one in charge because you're older and it's nice that I finally get to call the shots for a change." She smiled at the redness intensifying on Claire cheeks, and all Claire could do was sputter like an idiot.

"K-Mart, you know that was what you meant," Claire weakly argued and K-Mart lightly patted her back.

"Ah, Claire, we've got to clean up that dirty mind of yours," she continued to tease Claire.

"Whatever," Claire lamely replied and turned her head in the opposite direction.

K-Mart giggled and kissed Claire's red cheek. "Sorry, Claire, I just can't help teasing you sometimes. You're just too much of an easy target." She smiled up at Claire and squeezed her hand as they walked sided by side back through the empty and dusty roads.

After half an hour, they finally reached the shopping center K-Mart had solidified in her mind. The girl's eyes shone with joy at the sight despite the grim surroundings of wrecked cars and corpses strewn in them and out on the streets.

"Come on, Claire!" she said excitedly and tugged at Claire's arm a little too forcefully again.

Claire groaned inwardly at the torture she was going to be suspected to. She resorted to scanning the area for any signs of danger since K-Mart was oblivious in her girly state of shopping adrenaline, and would be no help in the lookout department.

"K-Mart," Claire said seriously, "You can shop, but don't forget to watch your surroundings."

"Oh, Claire," K-Mart sighed, "You can never let your guard down can you?" She smiled at Claire and Claire rolled her eyes.

"If you haven't noticed, K-Mart, we're kind of in the middle of a zombie apocalypse and besides, it's my constant guard which has been keeping us alive for as long as we have," Claire said dryly, and K-Mart stuck out her tongue immaturely.

The mall's front entrance appeared smashed in from a vehicle as they entered the large hole created from the impact. Claire felt the hair on her arms and neck stand up from the sight of one lone flickering overhead light vainly trying to stay operational. The flickering light was the only thing illuminating the store K-Mart decided to go into and Claire just wanted the trip to be over with before it even began.

"Please hurry, K-Mart," Claire said as she resumed looking over the store. Claire realized they had entered a jewelry store where the majority of the glass cases had been smashed in possibly during the start of the zombie outbreak. Idiots, Claire thought to herself. What good is jewelry going to do for anyone during a crazy post-apocalyptic world?

"What could you possibly find that's useful here, K-Mart?" Claire questioned and turned to see K-Mart perusing the jewelry as if it was just another mundane shopping trip and their lives weren't in constant mortal danger.

K-Mart gasped and grabbed for something in the case. She held up an elegant necklace made out of gold. The pendant had two hearts interlaced with one another - a traditional necklace given to a lover,

She walked to Claire with the necklace in her hands and without a word, began to hook the necklace onto Claire's neck. The coldness of the necklace felt like ice against Claire's throat and made her gasp lightly, but it soon warmed as it laid against Claire's warm skin.

K-Mart whispered in Claire's ear, "Happy birthday, Claire."

Claire's eyes widened in shock. She couldn't believe she had forgotten her own birthday. Without realizing it, tears began to form in her eyes no matter how hard she tried to restrain herself from the overwhelming warmth she felt spreading throughout her body.

She looked at K-Mart and smiled sadly at the thought of forgetting her own birthday - a reminder of how the ruined world was starting to decay her memories of he old life. But then K-Mart pressed her lips against Claire's and kissed her softly, comforting her in her sorrow. She returned the kiss with a thankfulness purely genuine - she didn't know how long her sanity would last without K-Mart beside her to light her way.

"Thank you, K-Mart," she whispered against K-Mart's lips as they continued to kiss. K-Mart leaned into Claire's body and they relished the warmth of feeling alive in such a dead world. Claire hugged K-Mart's body close to her tightly and K-Mart gasped at the feeling of how close their bodies were.

"I love you, K-Mart," Claire whispered and nuzzled her face into K-Mart's neck.

K-Mart laughed softly at the ticklish sensation of Claire's lips grazing against her neck and replied earnestly, "I love you too, Claire."

Claire kissed K-Mart's soft neck and made her way up back to K-Mart's lips where she tasted an always prevalent taste of strawberries from K-Mart's mouth.

K-Mart took Claire's face in her hands and smiled at the electric-blue eyes adoring her features and said, "Promise, we're going to finish this later?"

Claire's eyes were dulled from the pleasant waves of heat radiating throughout her body, but she forced herself to agree - it wasn't the time to forget their worries, at least not quite yet.


End file.
